Winter Storm Forces Changes in Weekend Scrimmage Schedule

It was going to be a massive weekend of both scrimmages and season openers, but an expected storm has scrambled everybody's game plans. As far as we know, the Saturday games that kick off the season are still on schedule, but here's the latest with what scrimmages will be happening where, as well as some thoughts on what to look for while you're out there. We are trying to staff as many of these as we can, so check back for coverage after the events go off.

Friday

Colgate at Towson - Canceled

Towson and Colgate were ranked 26 and 27 in the Face-Off Year Book, so it should be a balance game. Towson's defense is their strength, and Colgate is looking to replace their a lot of offense that graduated with Brandon Corp and Kevin Colleluori, who account for 45% of their offense in 2009. The Colgate offense will need to find a new leader to initiate and take over games.

Colgate will rely on four year starter Timmy Harrington to keep the scrimmage tight. The Towson attack has the potential to put up a lot of points with Tim Stratton, Sean Maguire and Matt Lamon. Towson will also experiment with the third spot and may work in Stephan Norris and Dan Kramer.

Harvard at Johns Hopkins - 11:00am

Note: This scrimmage has beeb moved back to 10:00 am.

Harvard made a big splash in 2009 and Hopkins is a good gage to see where they stand in 2010. Hopkins is also looking to answer some questions as they missed out on another final four last season. The proud Hopkins defense finished 40th in the nation in GAA last season, finishing with a double digit average of 10.33.

Harvard returns all three attackman last year. Sophomore Jeff Cohen emerged as the offensive leader by year's end will need to pick up where he left off for the Crimson to compete in a tough Ivy League. He'll have to feel out the Hopkins defense, something tells me the the Blue Jays will be swinging. Harvard is looking for a new goal keeper after the defense finished 3rd in GAA last season, it'll be important for them to find a consistent net minder.

Hopkins will be featuring some new faces in the midfield. Until the defense can get back to Petro's previous standards, the midfielders will need to handle the ball wisely. Hopkins has an experienced and talented attack, but they aren't real dangerous off the dodge. This attack unit works best with space, something the midfielders will need to create. Steven Boyle is certainly a capable dodger and a four year starter, but he isn't explosive, which heightens the pressure on All American midfielder Mike Kimmel to dictate the tempo.

Cornell at Maryland - 1:00PM

Note: This scrimmage has been canceled although Cornell and Colgate may scrimmage. But there's still some good info below so we'll leave it there.

There's going to be a lot of good attackman at this one.

Maryland is freakishly deep at attack and you may see the likes of Grant Catalino coming out of the midfield to get more of them on the field. Monster man Will Yeatman is still looking to take the next step since a breakout freshman year at Notre Dame. And that still leaves Travis Reed, Joe Cummings and Ryan Young in the mix; Cummings and Reed each saw time at the midfield last year alongside Catalino, so that's an option as well. Brian Farrell is another outstanding LSM in action this weekend, at 6-5 240, I think you'll take note of his presence against an inexperienced Cornell midfield.

Cornell is coming off an NCAA finals appearance and graduated all three of their starting midfielders. Roy Lang is expected leader at the position, and he'll be looking to compliment the dangerous duo at attack in Rob Pannell and Ryan Hurley. Two other important holes to fill are at the face-off X and in cage; success in these positions will be crucial as the Big Red try and revamp a young offense. Freshman AJ Fiore is an Under Armor All American and IL's No. 3 goalie recruit, he'll be going up against Junior Matt Martinwz for the starting nod.

Hartford, Lafayette at Rutgers

Rutgers showcases a two-time All ECAC midfielder in Justin Pennington. He'll have a good test against Hartford's goalie Scott Bement, he was the American East Rookie of the Year in 2009. Pennington will have the advantage of young LSM's working their way into Hartford's line up, he's a very dangerous feeder and shooter with his hands free.

Lafayette will also be featuring a young defense, Steward Inman is back on defense, but all the other spots vacant. They are also looking for a new goalie, seniors Jason Montoya and Vinny DePasquale will battle it out for that spot.

Saturday

Ohio State, Robert Morris at Duke

Ohio State at Duke 10:00am
Robert Morris at Duke 12:00pm

Ohio State will get a good test out of Duke. Ohio State is looking to build off an 8-8 season that left them out of the tournament. Ohio State is looking to replace two graduated attackmen that accounted for 110 points. Senior Mario Ventiquattro returns to lead the attck and Duke's defense will be a tough test for this young unit. Ohio State will also need to find consistency at the face-off x. They do not have a proven face-off man and will be trying out a variety of people at the position. They have MLL F/O All Star and OSU alumni Anthony Kelly on the coaching staff, so we'll see if he's having an impact on the position.

Robert Morris is an emerging program and they'll be excited to go up against Duke. The RMU defense will need to tighten up if they want to compete with Duke, but if they do, Robert Morris can be a dangerous upset team if they linger in games, just ask Penn State. Canadians Trevor Moore and Corbyn Tao-Brambleby are the biggest threats on offense, look for them to get tricky in tight and to work off ball together.

Duke is coming off a scrimmage victory against Team USA. Tough to say anything else about a team that knocked off a professional all star team without some their best players. It'll be good to see Crotty back in the mix and to see how freshman Josh Offit responds to his MVP nod against Team USA. The Duke defense is extremely athletic and talented, they'll be looking to create turnovers and push the ball upfield. Duke is still determining a starting goal keeper, so keep an eye on that position.